Century Bridge Closes $44.4 Million Real Estate Investment in China

BEIJING and DALLAS, July 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Century Bridge Capital announced today that it has invested $44.4 million in a joint venture with Coastal Greenland Limited for the development of an in-fill, middle-income, residential project in Wuhan, China.  The project will comprise 162,030 square meters and is located in Hankou, Wuhan's traditional downtown business center.  $30.5 million of the funding for the investment was provided by Century Bridge China Real Estate Fund, L.P., with the remaining $14.4 million provided through co-investment.  The investment represents the first investment by Century Bridge's fund, which has over $170 million of total committed capital from nine global institutions.

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Commenting on the investment, Century Bridge CEO, Tom Delatour noted, "This investment in Wuhan is right in line with our strategy of investing in middle-income, residential housing in Tier II cities, which targets opportunities that capitalize on China's larger urbanization trend.  In addition, the location of the project in an already mature district where supermarkets, schools, hospitals and recreational facilities are within walking distance, along with convenient access to Wuhan's financial district, make the development very attractive for residential buyers." 

Century Bridge President, Wei Deng, added, "In each of the investments made by our fund, our core strategy is to invest with experienced local developer-partners, such as Coastal Greenland.  Given Coastal's strong history of developing in more than a dozen Chinese cities, joint venturing with Coastal is consistent with that strategy.  In addition, because we work hand in hand with our JV partners throughout the construction, development and marketing processes, we look to joint venture with partners who are fully cooperative and transparent.  Consequently, given Coastal's track record of working with foreign capital they are a perfect partner for us." 

Coastal Greenland Group Chairman Jiang Ming commented, "We are very pleased to be collaborating with Century Bridge. Having acquired so much knowledge spanning real estate development, private equity, investment banking, insurance and asset management, Century Bridge has been an excellent source of capital, asset management experience and strategic thinking. With 23 years of real estate experience as a high-value brand, Coastal has continuously delivered substantial returns to our institutional investors, and we are certain that combining Century Bridge's financial management experience and Coastal's real estate development expertise is sure to bring strong and stable returns to both parties."

With 300-400 million people expected to relocate to China's cities in the next 15 years, China's ongoing urbanization and infrastructure needs will continue to drive growth in the Tier II cities.  Century Bridge Capital believes that this dynamic bodes well for continuing stability and investment opportunity in middle-class housing in China's Tier II cities.

Century Bridge Capital is a private equity firm with offices in Beijing, China and Dallas, Texas.  The firm is focused exclusively on investment in the middle-income, residential real estate sector in China's growing Tier II cities. 

www.centurybridge.com

PRESS CONTACT:   
Guy Lawrence                                                 
Ross & Lawrence                                                                                        
212-308-3333
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COMPANY CONTACT:       
Jeff Tucker                          
Century Bridge Capital      
214-270-2149
[email protected]
 

SOURCE Century Bridge Capital